2005-12-23
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The Holy Spirit urges me to continue discussing prayer. We have already looked at Christ's instructions to quiet oneself first and pray without hypocrisy-just for the show of it. And then, there is the amazing statement in MT 6: 8, "Do not be like them [hypocrites]. Your Father already knows what you need before you ask Him." Despite all of this, the Father wants to hear from us, because that is how we reveal our hearts to Him.
Reuben Torrey, a noted Bible teacher during D.L. Moody's time, wrote about the power of prayer. He said, "We should never utter a word of prayer until we are definitely conscious that we are in God's presence." This made me think of MT 5: 23-24, "So if you are about to offer your gift to God at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with your brother, and than come back and offer your gift to God." Who do we suppose put that idea on the offerer's mind? I have to think it was God Himself. For this to have happened, the offerer must be feeling God's presence. Torrey points out, "Prayer is an audience with God where we are in His presence and can thus, ask and get things from Him." I'm sure Torrey was referring to advice, direction, release from pain, release from sorrow, perspective, encouragement or a host of other things that someone praying might request. How can we not forget God's amazing promise through Christ in JN 15: 7, "If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, then you will ask for anything you wish and you shall have it." It's another way of saying that if we ask for something that is in line with God's plan, then we shall have it. God loves us so much and believes in His own plan so much that He is willing to step out on a limb in making such a promise. Just think about this: God has enough time and a big enough heart that He is actually eager to give us an audience with Him at any time. He asks us to seek Him out at every turn. This is nothing new either. JER 29: 11-13 illuminates God's heart-attitude in this matter. "I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future for which you hope. Then you will call to Me. You will come and pray to Me, and I will answer you. You will seek Me, and you will find Me because you will seek Me with all your heart."
Torrey continues, "Rather than ask, 'How much time must I spend in prayer?' ask 'How much time may I spend in prayer without neglecting the other privileges and duties of my life?'" Now there's a thought! Why shouldn't we look upon our time in prayer as a privilege? As much as we respect our human leaders for the most part in this country, they aren't superhuman. They can't possibly grant a personal audience to all the people who might want to ask them for something or express an opinion. And yet, our amazing God is willing and eager to do that, in addition to being able to see to all His own responsibilities. I've written before about the one way that God worked on me. I was asked to pray for 30-60 minutes for our church and other matters. In my usual mode of trying to be prepared to the max, I gathered all kinds of prayer materials, including ones the church had provided. It was lovely to have our huge sanctuary all to myself with the lights low. [Our sanctuary comfortably fits almost 900 folks and has a ceiling that must be 25 feet high]. I stationed myself with all my materials at my feet around me in front of our altar for this purpose and began. God must have been laughing His head off! I have no idea exactly how long I was there. All I know is that I never once looked at the materials I had and was still praying when interrupted by some people rolling a casket down the aisle in preparation for a funeral that was scheduled. And yes, God gave me every one of the words and Scriptures that I prayed that day.
I wonder when we humans are going to learn what God has been telling us for so long. When will we understand that prayer really is a privilege, that we have instant communication with the Decision-Maker in our lives, that we have both the His Spirit [RO 8: 26-27] and His Son [Who gave His physical life for us on the cross, so we could be saved] to plead for us as our Advocate and Intercessor [HE 8: 1-2; HE 9: 12]? We don't have to go through layers of management to get a decision. We never have to feel like we are alone and/or abandoned. IS 43; 1b-3, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." He knows us so well that He has our names written on the palms of our hands [IS 49: 16]. How many human bosses can claim that? This doesn't mean that He will answer every prayer we sent up in the way we want. But, His only reason for not doing that is because He sees a greater perspective on a particular situation that we do. We can rest assured that our God is always righteous and that He always acts in our best eternal interests. Yes, we must pray that He will lead us to thinking eternally and to having the trust in Him that He so richly deserves.
PRAYER: O Lord, our prayers cover a wide variety of topics. They are usually quite concrete and in our own favor. That's some of the human frailty that Satan built into us from the time of the original sin [GN 3: 1-6]. With true faith, we come to understand that Your Son, Jesus Christ, died for us to give us a way out of slavery to sin and death. So, our prayers should always include acknowledgement of that great act of compassion and sacrifice and what it means to us personally. Human authorities in our lives, with the possible exception of loving parents, really don't demand a relationship with us that is real and personal. However, You do. Rather than resent that, we should take Your caring interest in us as a privilege. You alone have the power to glorify us, bringing us back to Your side in heaven for an eternal life of bliss and fellowship. MICAH 6: 8 tells us what You require of us. "He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." We must acknowledge that everything that is good has come from You. We must understand and act on what is said in COL 3: 13, "Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you." We must believe in Your teaching in PS 37: 11, "But all who humble themselves before the Lord shall be given every blessings, and shall have wonderful peace." Prayer is two-way communication with You, where we allow You to speak first. Our task is to learn to listen for what You say, think about it, let it become a part of our hearts, and act on it. And yes, You are willing to let us express a wide range of emotions to You, and You will listen to our pleas. With Your infinite wisdom and perspective, You will, as promised in PS 116:1, hear our prayers and answer them. You will do this in Your own perfect time and way. And so, Dearest Abba, we offer You our worship, praise, and thanks for being the loving and wise God You are. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.
Next week, the Holy Spirit is prompting me to write about how prayer is integral to our real and personal relationship with God. If a believing person has ever felt like he is alone, saddled with more responsibility than he can handle, or unable to extricate himself from his problems, he is not in touch with reality. Remember, I said a "believing person." God isn't promising us that our challenges will be easy, but He does say, through His actions, that we are equipped to deal with what is on our plates. Even a person like President G.W. Bush is in his position because God put him there [RO 13: 1]. Whether or not each of you agrees with His politics, we must accept that God wouldn't have allowed him to be in his position without first equipping him to be there. The fact that President Bush appeals to God every day of his life before making decisions gives us some indication of the truth of what I'm saying. Truthfully, I'm glad I don't have to be President of a country. However, maybe G.W. Bush is glad he doesn't have to carry out the duties of full-time voluntary ministry either. One overarching truth remains for every single believer in Jesus Christ in the world, no matter who he or she is. God has given us prayer as a means of ready and direct communication with Him to be used at any time. We can learn a lot from Him through prayer. While it is one of several ways He reveals Himself to us [study of His word being the other main one], we can always know that we are offering our pleas to a Deity Who loves us dearly and Who wants us to be blessed abundantly. Now, that should give us great comfort.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn